


and I don't even know if I wanna be free, 'cause the freedom of this party is killing me

by wormwood (robinsegg)



Category: Dimension 20 (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, Gen, Light Angst, a lot of one-sided pining in this one lol, dumb decisions made by teenagers because of alcohol, riz and adaine are best friends, thats it, they're at a house party and riz and adaine are pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:14:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22869196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robinsegg/pseuds/wormwood
Summary: The Bad Kids are at a party, and Adaine is not having a good time.
Relationships: Adaine Abernant & Riz Gukgak, Adaine Abernant/Figueroth Faeth (one-sided. or is it), Adaine Abernant/Original Female Character(s), Riz Gukgak/Fabian Aramais Seacaster (one-sided)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 86





	and I don't even know if I wanna be free, 'cause the freedom of this party is killing me

**Author's Note:**

> My favorite headcanon that has been semi-validated by canon is that Adaine and Riz are weird best friends with neuroticisms that egg each other on. They're two weird ND kids who are Bad At Being Normal, and I love that for them. They're also the last two to realize they're gay, and this is a fic that takes place post-that event in my mind. Neither of them are having a great time, and this fic isn't great either, lol, but I had fun writing it so really who cares right.

Adaine Abernant could admit that she and Riz had a strange relationship, to say the least. She could admit they were both strange people, and she could even admit that they often exacerbated each other’s strangeness. Their aversions to romance and compatible nerdiness made it so they clung to each other in a sea of hormones and sex crazy friends, sure, but Adaine was beginning to realize their neuroticisms were not nearly as compatible. And they looked like unbearable nerds when they crowded into a corner together at a party.

Adaine grimaced as she took a sip of beer, the same one she’d been nursing for a half hour. She sat next to Riz, who had squeezed himself as tight as he could into the corner of the loveseat. He was sulking, as he tended to do during parties. Whether it be because the Bad Kids weren’t paying attention “to the case,” or Fabian wasn’t paying attention to him, he was never good at finding a way to enjoy parties.

Adaine wasn’t either. She stared out into the room with its bad lighting and faint smell of weed, watching out for any of their friends.

Riz suddenly sat up with a huff. “How are you and Fig?” He asked, sharp eyed. Not ten minutes ago, she’d seen him half heartedly writing in his notes app different anagrams for ‘night yorb,’ which he still seemed to be fixated on.

She glared at him, listening to the sound of her beer swirling around before taking a swig. Riz ‘mmm’-ed. “We’re-- fine,” Adaine said. “Why do you ask? Did she say anything?” He rolled his eyes at her. Adaine continued glaring. 

“You know that she hasn’t said anything to me, Adaine.” He grabbed her beer and took a sip of it. He stuck out his tongue, scrunching his eyes together. “Gross.”

She grabbed it back. “It’s my gross beer. If you want one, maybe you should ask Fabian to get you one.” It was his turn to glare at her, and she took another swig of the beer. Riz grabbed it afterwards, and Adaine only half-heartedly protested this time.

“This is pathetic. We’re so pathetic,” she said after a second, slumping down in the seat. “We’re at a party and we’re just-- being stupid. People think we’re dating, Riz, did you know that? Us. Isn’t that crazy? Should we just pretend to date? Do we need to spend less time around each other? I can’t believe all of our friends started dating before us. This is pathetic.”

Riz didn’t seem to process that. “We need to solve the case first,” he murmured, in response to- one of her questions, assumedly. She wasn’t sure which one.

His brows furrowed as he stared at the beer in his hands. “Who was the DD again?”

“Don’t worry, it was Gorgug this time. And anyway I wouldn’t have let you drink if you were.” She shrugged. They lapsed back into silence, questions whirring in Adaine’s head as she watched Riz pull up his notes app again and painstakingly type “born yight” beneath “gyin borth.” 

And then she saw Fig in a dark corner, giving Ayda a sweet kiss. They were so happy you could tell from all the way across a dark room. “I’m not, like, bitter. I’m really happy for them, actually! They’re really good for each other and they’re my best friends next to you obviously and it’s great that Ayda’s comfortable enough around us and in Elmville and stuff to be so open and happy--” Riz plopped his head into her lap and she cut herself off as the dregs of their beer sloshed a little over him. He frowned up at her, and she frowned back. 

“Sucks.” He replied, simply. 

“Yeah.”

“We’re like, going to get over it. It just sucks now. ‘Cause we’re not over it.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you think they-- know?” She knew he wasn’t just talking about Fig and Ayda.

“I don’t know. Do you want them to?” Adaine took the beer can and set it down at another table.

“No. I don’t know.” He dragged her hand over his eyes. “We are pathetic. Geez.” Her stomach ached. For all that Jawbone and her anxiety meds were helping, she felt sick. It wasn’t that she thought crushes were weird or abnormal or whatever, but she hated the idea of people-- knowing about her. And her feelings. It had taken so long for her to figure out she was gay, and even longer to realize she liked Fig, and she hadn’t told anyone besides Riz. And what would happen if she figured out everyone already knew? That they’d known years before she figured it out? That everything about her was obvious to everyone but her?

Riz let out a small groan and pulled her hand off his face. She hadn’t realized she’d been tapping on his face that whole time. He opened his eyes and frowned at her queasy face.

“I’m gonna tell Gorgug we’re walking home. We should go, right?” She smiled tightly and nodded. He groaned as he sat up, looking around for Fig, and made direct eye contact with Fabian. He was a little sweaty, hair sticking to his forehead, and he had shucked off his Owlbears jacket in favor of the muscle shirt underneath. He was probably a libertarian. He was such a douchebag. God.

Fabian smiled at him, shoving through the crowd. “The Ball, how are you doing?” Riz got up, grimacing at the splash of beer on his shirt.

“Adaine and I were just about to go home. How drunk are you?”

“Very!” He grinned, before frowning. “You’re leaving?”

Adaine piped up, “Yeah, we’re both tired. We’ve been… working on the case. For a while.” She stuttered unconvincingly, but Fabian didn’t seem to take note.

“That is-- ridiculous. You’re tired because you aren’t having any fun. I can’t believe we always let you two alone at these things, you never interact with anyone.” He grabbed Adaine and Riz’s wrists, one in each hand. “Nerd Squad should be illegal.”

“Where are we going?”

“Nowhere, I’m just keeping you guys here with me.” Riz tugged hesitantly, and Fabian immediately held on tighter.

“Okay. I’m just- I’m just going to go talk to Gorgug. So you can- you can let go Fabian.” Adaine grunted and wrenched her wrist out of his grip. Riz went a little limp as he watched Adaine slink away.

“I don’t suppose that--”

“No.”

“Fantastic.” Fabian swung his hand around a little, still not looking at Riz.

“Aren’t you having fun, The Ball? Wouldn’t you rather be here with us than walking home?”

Riz looked around. They were standing in place, and a Fig and the Sig Figs song was playing way too loudly, and the beer he’d spilled was beginning to get sticky. “Sure,” he said. 

“That is just what I like to hear. Now I’ll be getting myself a drink. Don’t leave,” he said, and left. Riz rolled his eyes and went in Adaine’s direction.

“So are you guys like, dating or something?” Adaine let out a cut off wheeze of a laugh and turned to Riz. They were leaning against a wall next to Gorgug and Zelda, Riz crouched down near Adaine’s feet.

“Me and Adaine? No, we’re friends.” Riz said, resting his head against a potted plant.

The girl looked down at him, black hair in a high ponytail and face etched into a frown. She wore an Aguefort Volleyball t-shirt and jean shorts under a windbreaker, and Riz thought she might know Zelda from somewhere. “Okay, but you can be friends and still date.”

“We’re just… not dating. It’d be weird.” Adaine said, nursing another beer. “And neither of us are into each other.” Riz nodded, then made grabby hands at the can. Adaine didn’t know the girl’s name, and it was embarrassing, because the girl definitely told it to her and she’d definitely forgotten. She took a long swig before handing it down to Riz, who drank some and accidentally spilled some inside the potted plant.

Gorgug took the beer from Riz and handed it back to Adaine. She smiled at him a little dopily. They had been about to walk home, but then Adaine had gotten sucked into a conversation with Gorgug, Zelda, and Volleyball Girl, and then she’d drank another beer, and then Riz had came in and started drinking from that same can, and then he sat down on the floor and so they were definitely not going to be walking home.

“So are you like, into girls then?” Volleyball Girl asked, smiling. Gorgug hummed nervously. Zelda also hummed nervously.

Adaine, of course, hummed nervously. Riz said, “Just because we’re not dating doesn’t mean we’re gay.” His protective instincts were a little misplaced, but she appreciated it nonetheless. She still kicked him a little, to which he gave her a wounded look.

Volleyball Girl raised her hands goodnaturedly. “Just curious, didn’t mean any offense.”

Adaine frowned and said as confidently as she could (not very), “I am-- gay.” And then she said, “Riz is just weird like that.” Gorgug unceremoniously picked him up before he could say more things. Volleyball Girl smiled, tugging at a strand of Adaine’s hair.

Gorgug and Zelda sat together with Riz sitting across from them. He was watching Adaine and Volleyball Girl, whose name he also didn’t know. Fig and Ayda were next to him, Ayda’s wings tucked up as she held Fig’s hand.

“This is my song,” Fig said, puffing up her chest. “Gorgug’s playing the drums in it.”

“I always do,” Gorgug replied goodnaturedly. He twirled his drumsticks a little before one fell out of his hands and rolled under the couch.

“Shit,” he said, and dropped to his knees, peering under the couch.

“Incredible. And so you are often playing at these events?”

“Yeah! I mean all our music’s on Spotify and we’re like, pretty popular so people like our music a lot.” Riz snorted into his water. Fig was trying so hard to impress Ayda, who was already impressed by anything she did. He was about to start chewing at the sofa if he stayed nestled between two dopey couples.

Across the room, Riz saw Volleyball Girl sit down on the floor, pulling at Adaine’s hand to drag her down too. He saw Adaine pull something out of her jacket, though he was too far away to see what it was, and laugh at the little marvelled expression on Volleyball Girl’s face. 

It’s not that he was angry at any of them for being happy, it was just-- boring. He was bored. At the world and people who were into romance or whatever. Crushes were dumb and a waste of time, especially when they would never go anywhere, so you were just stuck doodling people’s names into your notes, like he had seen a million times before. He could be solving cases and working on finding new cases, there could even maybe be a potential client who walked past his closed door, all because he was drunk at some party. He wanted coffee.

Riz got up silently, walking over to the kitchen. Lo and behold, there was a coffee maker. He frowned at it for a second, dragging out a mug from the sink that looked semi-clean and trying to figure out how it worked. He pressed a random button and sat himself on the marble countertop, hoping for the best. The mug was fun, at least. A dinosaur neck and head made up the handle of it, which was nice and clever and made Riz happy.

The coffee maker eventually produced something that was maybe coffee, and Riz did his best with it, taking a long swig of it. He swung his legs a little on the counter, pouring a sugar packet into his mouth. He hated parties. He hated how his friends were all charming and cool now, even the ones that weren’t cool before. He wanted to climb on top of the fridge.

Riz climbed on the fridge.

On the fridge, Riz curled up and pulled up his notes, his physical paper notes instead of his phone notes, and began scribbling furiously, random words and phrases he’d heard over the course of the night that could relate to the case. He continued doing that until Gorgug and Fabian walked in.

“The Ball, we were told there was a strange goblin in here, was that you?”

“We’re gonna go home, but if you want to stay in here, you can,” Riz poked his face over the fridge and began climbing down.

“You know you shouldn’t get on top of people’s furniture. The girl we saw thought it was weird,” Fabian said. Riz shrugged in response.

In the van, Adaine watched the others lulled to sleep by Gorgug’s and the Hangvan’s conversation. Ayda and Fig sat next to each other, Fig showing her music as Zelda slept next to the two of them. Fabian stretched out in the seat next to Kristen, who rested her head on his shoulder and silently snored. Riz sat next to them, typing on his notes, face illuminated by a thin blue light.

Adaine sat in the passenger seat and tried not to be sick. For a lot of reasons. She was drunk. She was drunk and she kissed a girl. She was drunk and she kissed a girl whose name she didn’t know, at a party with a bunch of people, and she didn’t even get the girl’s number. And she didn’t even like the girl all that much. Adaine was drunk and had wasted her first real kiss. All because she was dumb and pined over girls in happy relationships, because she listened to girl in red and got upset.

She listened to Gorgug and the Hangvan, and closed her eyes, and rested her head against the window, and tried not to think.


End file.
